When the World Ends
by Kylie18
Summary: A storm ridden town, a short staffed hospital, two babies and one fateful decision change the lives of so many in Pine Valley. How do you survive when your world ends? How do relationship go on? End? Begin again? And what happens when a truth buried for a decade is revealed? Rated M for mature later in the fic.


**Author notes:** Before I get anyPM's or reviews I'm going to lay it out there: This is NOT a Jack and Erica story. He will not magically become the boys father, nor will Erica get pregnant with Jack's baby. In the very essence of the story, it is David and Erica. That does not, however mean they end up together, in most of my stories they don't. But they are the main focus, though all relationships J&E and David/Cara are respected through out. If you don't want to read, bail out now...

**Chapter 1**

"I'll get it, Jack," Erica called down the stairs headed for the front door. Jackson was in the kitchen, she thought, but it didn't matter she was closer to the door. She had no idea who it could be at almost ten at night, but the sooner she got them away, the sooner she could be alone with her husband.

The doorbell rang again before she got to it; whomever it seemed to grow more impatient by the second. "Yes?" She finally said after pulling the door open. She didn't recognize the two men standing at her door, but one was wearing a police uniform.

"Miss Kane," The second man, dressed in a suit started, "I'm Special Agent Daniel Jones with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and this Detective Matthews from the New York Police Department." Detective Matthews held out his hand, watching Erica stare back at him with wide eyes.

"The FBI and the NYPD?" She started, shaking her head. "I just spoke to my girls…"

"We're not here about you're daughters," Special Agent Jones said through a hard breath, "we're here about your son."

She blew out hard breath and her eyes slipped shut. "I don't have a son. I mean, I did but he died a few hours after birth, and that was almost a decade ago."

Agent Jones nodded, and flipped open the file he had under his arm. "His name was Jaden David Hayward, correct?"

She nodded again. "Why are you here? My son's death was investigated and the case closed a few days after his death. I can't do this again."

Detective Matthews nodded this time. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you, Miss Kane, but there is reason to believe…"

"You are not exhuming him," She spit out, eyes shooting open as she narrowed her eyes at them. "I don't care what reasons you might have for looking into his death, I will not allow it."

Agent Jones blew out a hard breath and nodded. "We will need to exhume the body buried under your son's name…."

"What part of you are not exhuming his grave don't you understand?" She asked, trying to sound firm, but even she knew the tears that were welling in her eyes gave her way. Why were they doing this to her? It took her years to move on from her son's death, and even now, even his name evoked memories she could hardly handle.

"I don't know exactly how to tell you this," Agent Jones began, "but we have reason to believe that the child who is buried in your son's grave, is not your son."

She shook her head and started to push the door closed. "I don't know what kind of a joke this is…"

"We believe…." Detective Matthews told her, holding the door open, "We know…." He corrected, "that your son is alive and living in New York City."

She shook her head vehemently at them. "This isn't funny…"

"When your son was born, there was another boy born the same day. His name was Ryan Shane Lemmings. He was in the isolette next to your son Jayden. The boys were about the same weight and the same length, and looked alike in coloring. Ryan's mother Linda was in the nursery unattended at the time your son died…"

"I already know all of this," Erica threw back them. Why were they doing this to her? Why couldn't they let her son rest in peace? Why did they have to twist the knife in her heart? Her whole life was turned upside down when Jayden died. She lost her company. Her marriage and for a time her sobriety. She'd finally put her life back together, and now here they were forcing her live that hell all over again.

"We are aware from the start you believed that the baby who died, the one you saw and held after his death was not your son…."

"That hospital tried to say I had a breakdown, that I was lost in grief. Why are you doing this to me? Haven't I suffered enough? I lost almost everything."

"Because you were right," Agent Jones said quickly. "The baby that died that day was not your son Jayden, but was in fact Ryan Lemmings. His mother switched the boys after her son expired."

Erica shook her head. "I can't…"

"We still need DNA from yourself and Jayden's father to confirm the switch, but Ryan now being called Shane, mother confessed to the switch after Shane's school questioned her about some abnormalities in Shane's vaccination records."

She nodded, but she didn't hear anything after switched. The world went white, and her chest got tight and the room started to spin. Detective Matthews and Agent Jones rushed forward in order to catch her before she fainted onto the floor.

**To be continued**


End file.
